Coming off the first camp he has ever attended, Jeffersontown athlete DeMichael Jackson is set to get his busy summer under way. Between working out and talking to coaches, he has full summer ahead of him, packed with camps and visits.
Jackson, recruited right now as a running back and defensive back, recently attended a combine at Ohio State and he considered it a strong performance of himself.
“It went really well from my perspective. We did a lot of one-on-one drills, and I scored about every time. I also came away with some new drills to work on at home.”
Now, the 5-foot-11 star has his eyes set on the future. In fact, this weekend is on his mind in particular. Jackson anticipates that he will come away with an offer from Kentucky this weekend at their skills camp. The offer would go down as his first one, too.
“The coaches told me if I just come out and be myself and make big plays, I will come away with an offer,” he said excitedly. That would make Jackson’s first offer, and he wouldn’t mind seeing it come from his in-state squad.
However, the rising senior desires to move out of state.
“I would love to go to school out of state,” he began. “I just want to live on my own for a little bit and get in the real world.”
While it may not sound like it, Jackson is definitely interested in UK.
“Oh, I’m very interested in Kentucky. They (the team) treat me like family, and when I need to talk to someone, I know I can always talk to the coaching staff,” he complimented.
The speedster even considers UK to be recruiting him the hardest, and he said “it feels good” to know he is someone the coaches are passionate about.
David Turner seems to be handling his recruitment extremely well right now.
“We have a great relationship right now. When I have a problem, I know I can talk to Coach Turner. We’re really cool.”
But Kentucky isn’t the only teams vying for Jackson’s services right now.
Kentucky, UCF, Indiana, Illinois, and Alabama are the teams he has on his list right now, in no specific order. “Those are the main ones I’m looking at right now.”
Western Kentucky, West Illinois, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, and some others smaller schools have expressed interest in him, but Jackson hopes to stick to his previous five.
Yes, you read that correctly. There is no Louisville, nor is he really interested in the Cardinals; and yes, that is UCF in the picture. The nightmare continues for Louisville fans.
Jackson even hopes to visit Central Florida this summer, as well as Cincinnati and Indiana.
With him wanting to leave the state, those three destinations could be very probable for Jackson; but never count UK out, especially if he gets his initial offer this weekend.
As far as position-wise, Jackson has different schools recruiting him at different positions, but he has a specific position that he hopes to play.
“I would love to play running back and that’s where I want to be,” he explained. “But in the end, I just want to play football.
A decision looks to be far in the future; Jackson wants to take his visits and tour the campuses of his favored schools, then he will make a decision.
A lucky school will have this kid suited up one day, and Jackson will represent them well.
Until then, be prepared for more updates on DeMichael here.
Follow Garrett Tucker on Twitter [URL=”https://twitter.com/#%21/GTuckersports”]@GTuckersports[/URL] for more info on Kentucky recruiting.
